Proton and Pulse: City of Whispers

Chapter 1: Hearts of Gold

The crowd gathered in the city square and seemed to melt together as the sun hung high above them. The bright, cloudless sky gave way for warmth to scatter through the city of Aurymvale. Families and friends had gathered for the coming celebration. White and gold balloons decorated the lampposts and sidewalks. The smell of toasted nuts and cinnamon fluttered on the gentle breeze. The same breeze flew the banners that hung everywhere; each one of them was printed with the Mayor's name: Richard Sinclair. Today was the inauguration of Aurymvale's new mayor.

Dubbed as The Heart of Gold, the city square was bustling with activities. Aurymvale always put more than what was necessary into public events. The streets were full of vendors and small pop-up entertainment. Children ran around as if they were at an amusement park. It looked as though Mayor Sinclair's welcoming party had been fused with a carnival. Most of the crowd was gathered in front of the stage in which the new mayor would give his speech. The audience murmured as they watched the empty stage with anticipation.

Standing amongst the cluster of people was a pair of siblings.

"It's a bit tacky, you know," Nora began. "Sinclair is supposed to be addressing the death of Mayor Cross, and they've got people stuffing their faces with fair food and jackasses throwing balloon animals around."

Ray turned to his sister as he shoved a handful of toasted pecans into his mouth.

"Tragic, I know." Ray mumbled.

He shoved the cup of pecans towards his sister. "Want some?"

Nora rolled her shallow blue eyes and crossed her arms.

"You're a real douche sometimes, you know that?" Nora complained. "Did you come for the festivities or to start making something of ourselves?"

Ray pushed his hand through his copper colored hair and leaned down towards Nora.

"Relax a little, would you? We can't do much scouting if there's no one on the stage. And like I told you, I don't think there will be much to look out for. There's not always some creeping danger lurking around the corner. They've got police patrolling this place like it's Grayhall."

"Just keep your eyes out, okay? The police can't catch everything," Nora huffed.

Ray shrugged his broad shoulders and grabbed another handful of pecans.

The two waited for a few more minutes, until the crowd suddenly began to clap and cheer. Nora's head turned towards the stage as her short black hair whipped across her face. She nudged Ray and motioned to the stage with her eyes.

"Keep surveying the surroundings of the stage, got it? I'll keep my watch on the actual stage. Alert me if you hear or see anything," Nora ordered.

"Yes Ma'am," Ray mocked. "You know, I don't even think Mom was as bossy as you."

"Me either," Nora returned. "Probably because her and Dad were too busy feeling sorry for us. Someones gotta take charge around here."

"True... but this is our first time out patrolling. Take it a little easier, drill sergeant."

"Ray, you do realize if something goes wrong it's on us, right? We have assigned ourselves the task of keeping the people here safe today, whether something goes wrong or not. Now would you quiet down and keep a lookout?"

That seemed to make Ray shut up. He nodded with the nervous realization that his actions could actually matter today.

Richard Sinclair was making his way up to the podium. A few other people filled the stage, and then the spectators finally grew quiet.